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NetEqualizer is Net Neutral, Packet Shaping is Not

June 15, 2016 — netequalizer

The NetEqualizer has long been considered a net neutral appliance. Given the new net neutrality FCC regulations, upheld yesterday, I thought it would be good time to reiterate how the NetEqualizer shaping techniques are compliant with the FCC ruling.

Here is the basic FCC rule that applies to bandwidth shaping and preferential treatment:

The FCC created a separate rule that prohibits broadband providers from slowing down specific applications or services, a practice known as throttling. More to the point, the FCC said providers can’t single out Internet traffic based on who sends it, where it’s going, what the content happens to be or whether that content competes with the provider’s business.

I’ll break this down as it relates to the NetEqualizer.

1. The rule “prohibits broadband providers from slowing down specific applications or services”.

The NetEqualizer makes shaping decisions solely based on instantaneous usage and only when a link is congested. It does not single out a particular application or service for throttling. The NetEqualizer does not classify traffic, instead looking at how the traffic behaves in order to make a shaping decision. The key to remember here is that the NetEqualizer only shapes when a link is congested, and without it in place, the link would drop packets which would cause a serious outage.

2.The FCC said “providers can’t single out Internet traffic based on who sends it, where it’s going”.

The NetEqualizer is completely agnostic as to who is sending the traffic and as to where it is going. In fact, any rate limiting that we provide is independent of the traffic on network, and is used solely to partition a shared resource amongst a set of internal users, whether they be buildings, groups, or access points.

I hope we have finally seen an end to application-based shaping (Packet Shaping) on the Internet. I see this ruling being upheld as the dawning of a new era.

See for yourself.

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